Nebula Award Winners and Hugo Award Winners for Best Novel

by Richard Davies

The Hugo Awards and the Nebula Awards are the traditional yardsticks for fantasy and science fiction writing and have been for decades. Winners are guaranteed a place in literary history and first editions of these acclaimed novels have become highly collectible.

If money was no object and you wanted to create the ultimate modern science fiction and fantasy rare book collection in a single swoop, then you missed the boat - recently The Fine Books Company in Rochester, Michigan, offered first editions of all the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novels for a cool $116,530. The collection has now sold.

The listing included 126 books covering 82 titles (many titles won both awards), and 95% of the titles were signed or inscribed, and in fine or better condition. When a paperback is the true first edition, then the first hardcover is also included. In some cases, US and UK hardcovers had been included where the paperback was the true first.

Both the Hugo and Nebula Awards are to be celebrated not only for their recognition and reward of science fiction writing, but also their dedication to the inclusion and consideration of lesser-known writers, and the resulting publicity to them. As well, the Hugo in particular is dedicated to excellence: in an unusual option, voters can select "no award" if they feel no entrant was worthy of being named. If the "no award" category receives the most votes, there will not be a winner named that year, although that has never occurred in the Best Novel category.

Both awards eschew exclusivity, as well, taking into account applicable selections from writers whose typical genre may not be strictly science fiction or fantasy, but literature or contemporary fiction. For example, Michael Chabon's novel The Yiddish Policeman's Union took the Hugo in 2008.

The Nebula Awards are handed out by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America and their annual event celebrates the books of the previous year. The Hugos are chosen by members of Worldcon and the event is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories.